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Crossing land border from the US for the first time with COPR during pandemic

graci_neves

Full Member
Feb 20, 2019
20
32
Good morning everyone,

My family and I have received our COPR and need to land for the first time in Canada. We are planning to move in March/April 2021. We live in the United States and are moving permanently to Canada. I have seen a lot of posts talking about soft landing but we are not doing that. We are staying in Canada for good.

Due to the new hotel quarantine restrictions we are considering crossing the border by car but we are afraid because as far as we know the land border is closed for non essential personnel. Is landing for the first time with the COPR considered essential travel?

We don't want to import our car so we are planning to rent a car here in the U.S and returning it there in Toronto. Would we have problems crossing the border in a rented car that won't be brought back to the U.S by us?

Any answer is appreciated.

Thanks
 

roodrap

Full Member
Jul 28, 2016
35
1
I just did that but I imported my card. I tried asking for rented car but crossing the border with rented car was not allowed (may be it was that one dealer but due to covid they are finding it difficult to drive the cars back..no idea on rental car). The process at border was smooth. I was able to travel on expired COPR. I did book the hotel from the border. You are a permanent resident - so border crossing should not be a problem.
 

graci_neves

Full Member
Feb 20, 2019
20
32
I just did that but I imported my card. I tried asking for rented car but crossing the border with rented car was not allowed (may be it was that one dealer but due to covid they are finding it difficult to drive the cars back..no idea on rental car). The process at border was smooth. I was able to travel on expired COPR. I did book the hotel from the border. You are a permanent resident - so border crossing should not be a problem.
Thanks so much for your reply. I'm not a permanent resident yet considering that I haven't landed yet, this would be my first time entering the country. Would that make any difference? Good to know about the rented car. It makes sense that during Covid it would be really difficult to have someone to drive the car back to the U.S.
 

pomfh.k

Newbie
Sep 21, 2020
9
0
I just did that but I imported my card. I tried asking for rented car but crossing the border with rented car was not allowed (may be it was that one dealer but due to covid they are finding it difficult to drive the cars back..no idea on rental car). The process at border was smooth. I was able to travel on expired COPR. I did book the hotel from the border. You are a permanent resident - so border crossing should not be a problem.
Hello roodrap, Which rental car company did you contact? I am also preparing to travel and saw that Budget offers one-way rentals to Canada from US. Although there are limited cars from limited airport locations in US.

Also when crossing the border, what Covid restrictions are in place for land travel?
 

stuthibalaji

Full Member
Sep 15, 2020
38
4
Hey folks, my husband and I are planning on renting a car and traveling from New York City to Toronto. Even if we find a car to rent, which allows one way travel, do we have to hold on to the car until the quarantine period ends? Or can we drop it off, and then head over to our place of quarantine? Appreciate your help!
 

visu7190

Full Member
Jan 11, 2021
23
4
Hi All, Are there any rstriction is place at this time to immigrate from the US to canada? I recieved my CoPR this month and plan to move there next month. Please let me know?

Also, Do we need to carry new Photographs when landing for PR application? Can anyone share their recent experiences post landing, like SIN/OIHP applications etc?

Thanks in Advance.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
55,605
13,526
@stuthibalaji
Cool ... this is very helpful. Thanks!
You aren't supposed to drop off the car first. If you can drop off the car without any contact with the employees it may be acceptable. You can also only fill your gas tank outside via card. You can essentially have no contact with people except a drive getting you to your quarantine location. Make sure to use the washroom before you enter Canada because you aren't supposed to stop after you enter Canada.
 

tertiaryworld

Member
Dec 6, 2020
13
2
You aren't supposed to drop off the car first. If you can drop off the car without any contact with the employees it may be acceptable. You can also only fill your gas tank outside via card. You can essentially have no contact with people except a drive getting you to your quarantine location. Make sure to use the washroom before you enter Canada because you aren't supposed to stop after you enter Canada.
Thanks for the inputs ... i m hoping car return at airport would be similar to USA. That will allow me to return car without contact.
 

SaraRahul

Hero Member
Jun 15, 2019
201
66
Hi..
Did anyone recently enter Canada through one way car rental from USA to Canada? We are looking at moving to Victoria in first week of May and planning to drive through the border. Does any company allow one way rentals? As far as we checked we aren’t able to find any !!

thanks in advance for the replies :)